Did you know you can listen to BS/MD advice while you drive to work? We not only release videos on YouTube, we’ve launched a full podcast called The White Coat Club.
Balanced College Lists
On the latest podcast episode of the White Coat Club, Building a Strategic College List, we share our advice on how to research colleges and add the right schools to your list. You can subscribe on Spotify, Amazon or Apple!
A balanced college list is crucial to your acceptance success, and rather than relying on statistics and past data, you should seek advice for colleges to be added or try to visit as many as is feasible. Too many Reach schools can really narrow down your final options, so it’s important to balance your list with a solid number of Target and Safety schools. Our advice? Be very honest with yourself when looking at acceptance rates and your qualifications to determine which schools are Reaches. Never build a list around the SAT score you hope to achieve on the October exam – this leaves you little time to course-correct and write other essays before the early November college deadlines!
Application Myths and Legends
As Moon Prep Counselors, we receive some interesting questions from our students, and often wonder where they heard this misinformation. We created an entire podcast episode of the White Coat Club based on answering the baseless questions we are often asked, just to clear the air with our admissions insider information. Listen to our podcast episode Debunking Myths About Getting Into College for the answers to questions like the following:
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Could choosing a less popular major increase my chances of getting accepted into college?
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My resume looks a little sparse, should I start a non-profit now?
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I have a 1250 SAT, but I’m retaking the test in October. I’m spending my time studying for the test and will look at college applications later.
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Should my Personal Statement be formal or informal and creative?
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I have a high SAT score, I should be applying to all the Ivies, right?
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Did you “Joey Tribiani” your Personal Statement?
Don’t miss this fun episode; we provide a lot of advice and real-life examples from our former students!
Application Checkpoints
Our students know that when they pursue BS/MD programs, they are essentially applying early to medical school. They are shouldering the weight of resume-building towards what the colleges are looking for, and also what medical schools are looking for. Every volunteer hour, shadowing experience, and HOSA competition is carefully recorded in hopes of standing out. At Moon Prep, we have the unique position of partnering with medical students from all over the country to gain insight into what medical schools are looking for in applications. We’re sharing this knowledge with you in a new YouTube series: Application Reveal: Accepted to Ivy League Med School.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel to receive updates on the next Application Reveal videos!
College Updates For The 2023-24 Admissions Cycle:
Demonstrated Interest
Parents, if you are looking for ways to tangibly help your child’s college application season, this one’s for you! Parents and high school seniors who want to boost your chances at a certain school or multiple schools on your list now is the time to focus on “demonstrated interest.” Demonstrated interest is when a college tracks your activity level noting whether you have toured or interacted with the materials they have sent you.
Every college can look at this information, whether or not they publicly state they consider this information in their decisions.
Here is how you can use this to your advantage:
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Use the email address you plan on applying to their college with (through the Common App or their school application) to sign up for a virtual tour if the college is too far away to physically attend in person.
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Sign up for emails from their admissions office as well as their Honors program. Regularly open their emails and click through the links.
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Email the admissions team from your application email, once again, with a question that is not easily found on their website, but still shows your interest and level of research into their school. This can be something like “Are there often research opportunities on campus for freshmen, or is research reserved more for upperclassmen?” Do not send more than one email and do not send an email asking for information that you could easily find yourself on their website, like “Does your honors program include scholarships?”
Supplemental Essays
This is not the time to underestimate the number of essays involved in the college process. There are many more essays required by schools than the Personal Statement on the Common App! Parents should take an active role in their child’s college list to make sure that all of the essays are recorded in a spreadsheet and anticipated in advance to avoid last-minute, rushed essays.
Even beyond essays, colleges are increasingly leaning on video essays and other creative elements to get a feel for the personalities of their applicants. Here is a list of schools requiring items like videos above and beyond supplemental essays.
Here is a list of schools from the 2022-2023 cycle that did not require additional essays beyond the Common App.
Here are a few schools we see on many of our students lists this year that do not require additional essays, unless you’re applying to an Honors program:
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Case Western University
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Drexel University
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New Jersey Institute of Technology
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University of Delaware (not required with test score submission)
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University of Minnesota
If you are a rising senior who could use some help, contact us for a complimentary Zoom meeting to learn how we can help your child write college essays that truly stand out. Download Moon Prep’s Essay Blueprint in the meantime.
Didn’t have the productive resume-building summer you had hoped? There’s still time for your resume to shine. Through Rising Researchers students have the opportunity to work one-on-one on a customizable research project with our expert research mentors. Students work virtually while still performing cutting-edge research under the guidance of a research mentor. Our research mentors will guide students on how to showcase this unique research experience. The goal is to give these ambitious students an edge by adding advanced research, data analysis, and a publication to their resumes.
Here’s what you need to know:
How long is the program? 10 sessions, completed over a 4 month period.
When does it start? Projects can begin at any time, even during the school year. Students can register in advance to secure their spot with a research mentor of their choice.
Who is this program for? Our students are rising 9th graders through college students.
What is the end result? Students work with their research mentor to complete a research paper and poster, ultimately resulting in publication in the Rising Researchers Journal.
No other research experience available offers the level of close mentorship and project guidance as our research mentors. Schedule your complimentary session today to learn more about the details of adding a Rising Researchers research project to your child’s college resume.
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